The Do’s and Dont’s of Your First Home

Getting started in your own home can be a big challenge. Living away from friends and parents can mean that you are taking a lot of stuff into your own hands, things that previously you may not have known the first thing about. The time to move away from home can come at different times to all of us. For me, it was shortly after I turned 18. Now that I have a sister that is the same age I was when I moved out I thought it was the perfect time to share some basic do’s and dont’s of living alone.

Security

DO – Make sure that everything is secure both when you enter and leave your property. Lock the door after you enter and leave each time to ensure that it becomes a habit to do so. Look into security companies (for instance, research a review of Frontpoint) to guide you over what you may not already know. They are there to help you.

DON’T – leave your valuables on display or in obvious places (burglars head straight to bedrooms). Try not to leave a spare key hanging around the outside of the house – if need be, leave it with a neighbour that you can trust or a friend or family member. Your insurance claim may be affected if your provider finds out that thieves haven’t broken into your property, per say, but have instead accessed it with the key to the front door.

Decorating

DO – Take your time and think about what style or theme you want to stick to whendecorating your house. It takes a long time to get a house decorated from top to bottom – stick to something that you know you won’t be sick of or change your mind with too quickly.

DON’T – Buy brand new of everything. Shop around a bit and be frugal with your money – you may find that there will be a better use for your spending once your utility bills come through for the first time. Living alone can be expensive, so now is not the time to be proud unless you can really afford it.

Food

DO – Invest in a freezer so that you can save any leftovers that you may have. You could even think about batch cooking your meals so that you always have something to go to when you don’t feel like cooking and won’t waste anything that you cook.

DON’T –buy your food for the week without checking the use-by dates first. It’s also worth remembering that you probably won’t eat every single bit of what you have got – will any of it save, like rice or pasta? Can any meat or vegetables go into the freezer to be used at a later date to save you throwing it out?

These are only a few of the things that need to be fully taken into consideration before venturing out and getting a place of your own. It takes a lot to upkeep a successful house, but only a squidge more to make it into a perfect home for yourself. Don’t let the hard work that goes into it distract you – it will all work like clockwork after a couple of months. You’ve just got to get through those months first.